Chapter 12
"I see you're all giggly and happy," Alistair said without even turning to look at her. She grinned sheepishly and went up to stand beside him by the halla pen.
"Since when have you grown eyes on the back of your head?"
The man was leaning forward on the fence, looking at the grazing animals, chewing on a wedge of halla cheese.
He shrugged. "Since your bad habit of sneaking up on me won't go away, I have developed a very keen sense of hearing. My inheritance from the flying Andrastian dogs that brought me up, you know?" He chuckled at that and shook his head. Then turned to look at her. "Anyway, I heard you humming and skipping on your way here. Something good happen?"
Leliana tucked a coil of her hair behind her ear and leant back on the fence, keeping her elbows propped up on the wood. She placed her right foot on the lowest rung and relaxed. She blew out a breath and then smiled at him.
"I did a good thing."
Alistair raised an eyebrow. "You end the Blight while I was feeding the halla carrots? In which case consider me very thoroughly impressed."
Breathing out a laugh, Leliana slapped his bicep with the back of her hand. "No, silly. I talked to Gheyna for Cammen. They're together now."
"Cammen? The boy who was one step away from becoming a drunk poet and composing a ballad for his beloved?" Leliana nodded. Alistair looked back at the halla. Took a bite out of his wedge of cheese. "Depriving the world of more drunk poetry, Leliana? You truly are an agent of the Maker."
Leliana snorted and tilted her head back and peered at the puffy, cottony clouds flitting across the clear sky. There was a cool breeze blowing, signalling the coming of winter. How long had it been since she had left Lothering? Months, definitely, though it seemed much shorter.
Alistair's question put an end to her reminiscing. She turned towards him. "Hmm?"
"I asked how you did it. Bring them together."
"Oh." She pursed her lips, thinking on her answer. "Nothing much. I just... changed their perspective on things."
Alistair gave her a blank look. Didn't say anything. So she started to explain.
"Well, Gheyna wouldn't bond with Cammen because he was still an apprentice, right? And Cammen couldn't hunt because of two reasons." She pressed the tip of her thumb into the bottom two ridges on her little finger to count them off. "Firstly, they're not allowed to go inside the forest because of the werewolf attacks. And secondly, you need to have a clear mind when you're hunting. Fully concentrated at the task at hand. You have to be wary of the wind direction, animal calls, not stepping on twigs and giving away your position, all the while tracking your quarry. Then comes taking a position and actually shooting." She shook her head. "Can't do all that if your mind's elsewhere. And Cammen was always worrying about his failures in wooing Gheyna. He put a lot of pressure on himself. Raised the stakes too high. Couldn't handle it."
Alistair nodded along. "Right. I think I remember the girl saying something about him cocking up the hunt every time."
Leliana nodded in turn. "Mhmm. When I told Gheyna that I had spoken to Cammen, d'you know what she did?" Alistair shook his head. "Her eyes widened and she smiled. Wanted to know what Cammen had said. Rather, what he said about her. In other words, what he said was important to her. His opinion mattered." She paused a beat. "I just felt something there, Alistair. She was interested in him, but couldn't bring herself to bond with an apprentice. So I told her that if she gave Cammen a chance, if she really felt something for him, his station in life really shouldn't be a factor. Eventually, she realised that her rejection had made him miserable, and that was why his hunts never went well. She decided to bond with him, help him get a higher station in life."
By then, Alistair had finished with his cheese. He said, "What'd you do for the Chantry, Leli? Matchmaking?"
She laughed and returned her gaze to the sky. The sun had half disappeared beyond the horizon. It dropped faster now. Fractionally. As soon as it set, the cold would envelop them.
A lone halla trotted up to them, and Alistair reached out and patted it between the ears and stroked its forehead. Leliana watched on. She hadn't ever been that close to halla before.
Sensing her curiosity, Alistair said, "They're like horses for the most part. Just stronger and smarter. I named her Fiona. She's my newest friend."
"It's a she?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Didn't know myself. The halla keeper woman, Elora I think her name was, told me. This one was all jittery and shaky. She couldn't tell what the matter was. So I calmed her down. The Elora girl is able to communicate with them, see? Understand what's going on with them. She couldn't do it while Fiona was acting all cuckoo." He chuckled when the beast licked his hand.
Leliana turned and faced the halla. She inched a bit closer to Alistair. "So what was the problem?"
Alistair's gaze softened. "She was worried," he said while stroking the halla's forehead. "There was a werewolf attack. Her life-mate was affected. Diseased, probably. She was scared for him, and all her thrashing about made Elora think that she was the one who was sick." He was silent for a moment. "You were right. It's all about perspectives in the end."
She smiled. "How'd you know how to calm her down?"
He shrugged. "Animals respond to kindness. You forget, I used to be a stable-boy. I'm used to taking care of horses. You talk to them nicely and pet them, that's all they need, really. Mostly." He grinned at her. "You want to try your luck with Fiona?"
That, Leliana was uncertain about. Outside of hunting, and Schmooples, of course, she'd had little experience with animals.
"Are you sure that is a good idea, Alistair?" she asked warily. "These are proud creatures. It's almost like they know how special they really are. Would she let me touch her?"
Grinning, Alistair turned to the halla and said, "Fiona, meet Leliana. She's a good friend of mine. Will you let her pet you?"
The halla turned to look at Leliana. Looked right into her eyes. Then she took a few steps towards her, and lowered her head gently. Almost like a curtsy.
Hesitantly, she placed her palm on the halla's forehead, then patted it. The fur tickled her a bit.
Leliana looked at Alistair, unsure of what to do. He just smiled. "Down the forehead, along the sides, right to the muzzle."
So she did. Lightly grazed her hands down the sides of Fiona's face, but when she reached the muzzle, the halla's nostrils flared and she expelled a deep, quick breath, startling the redhead. Leliana jerked away from the fence in surprise and Alistair burst out laughing.
"What-what-what happened?" she asked him, trying to get over her surprise.
Alistair, still chuckling, reached out and stroked the halla's neck.
"She sniffed you, Leli, that's all. Familiarised herself with your scent," he told her. "Want to try again?"
By then, the surprise had melted away and been replaced with embarrassment. Leliana felt her cheeks heat up. "Later, perhaps."
"Perhaps," Alistair said. "Beautiful animals, though. Shame they get hunted so much, you know? For the antlers." He rubbed Fiona's forehead and then backed away from the fence. The halla bobbed her head a few times, and then went back to join the herd.
"After all this is over, I'd like to run a halla ranch," he declared suddenly, watching the herd. Leliana looked at him curiously.
"Why?"
"For the cheese, of course," he replied readily. "Have you tasted it? It's great. It's got a very distinctive stench about it, but it's really good. With a ranch, I'll have enough cheese to last a lifetime. Probably make a cottage out of cheese, I don't know. Maybe I'll sell some. Like a business." He grinned at her and spread his arms wide. Looked up at the sky. "I'll be the richest megalomaniacal cheese-magnate in all of Ferelden! Cheese for everyone! Mwahahahaha!"
Leliana covered her face with a hand and giggled. "It's something to consider," she admitted as they started walking towards camp. Then something struck her. "Do you usually wonder what you'll do after the Blight, Alistair?"
He shook his head. "Not really, no. Between crazy mages, crazy dwarves and now crazy werewolves, I've been pretty preoccupied. Life's never boring as a Warden, that's for sure."
"Is that the recruiting slogan, then? 'Join and forget boredom'?" she asked with a smirk.
Alistair laughed. "Really persuasive, isn't it? But I don't know. I rather enjoyed being a Warden. While it lasted." He shrugged. "Halla farm doesn't sound so bad either."
Leliana said nothing.
The sun had set by then, leaving the sky with only a dark-blue tint. The cold was creeping up on them. A sudden strong wind rustled the treetops, making the nesting birds chirp with renewed urgency. Somewhere in the distance, she heard the melancholic song of the nightingale. Her heart stilled.
Times like these, all she wanted to do was sit down and take in the beauty that nature had put on display for her.
Leliana ran her fingers through her hair absently. It had gotten long, reaching her shoulders now. She smiled to herself. "I need to cut it when we get to a town."
They'd reached their camp. The Dalish had shared their grounds with their party, which meant that for once, she wouldn't have to stay up for guard duty. She was looking forward to dinner and full night's rest before entering the forest in the morning.
"I don't know," Alistair said. Leliana looked at him, confused. He shrugged. "The longer hair looks good on you, I think."
He said it easily, without an air of presumption. A simple sentence. Nine words only.
Enough to send her heart hurtling into her rib cage, leaving her almost breathless for a few short seconds.
"Perspective, is all. Like you said." He shrugged good-naturedly. "Anyway, I'm going to go make sure Morrigan doesn't poison my food. You know how it is."
She nodded mutely.
"Be seeing you in the morning, Leli," he said and flashed her a grin. "Bonne nuit." Then he walked ahead to the camp's cooking area and patted Lucien's head on the way. Then he got into an argument with Oghren.
Leliana stood there for some time by herself in the shadows. She anxiously twirled her hair till her blush died down.
She wondered what in the world had just happened.
A/N: I confess, I was surprised at the steady climb in followers. To those who don't know, this story was just a plot bunny I couldn't ignore anymore. As such, it was never meant to be my top priority. This story was not planned and I hardly put any effort into writing it. Yet, it was very well received. People liked it and I was surprised by the sheer amount of feedback this story has gotten. I'm glad I could entertain you all, seeing as how 2016 turned out to be a pretty shit year. Yeah. Fuck 2016.
Anyway, to all those who read this story, thank you very much for doing so. Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it, and here's to a crappy new year. Happy holiday!